By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Over the last decade, Pat Ponto has seen too many close calls living on Perry Road: drivers grappling with 90-degree turns, curves, knolls and numerous blind spots.

“I’ve seen, whether it’s been reported or not, probably a half-dozen vehicles in ditches in the past few years,” Ponto told the Van Buren Town Board at its Aug. 16 meeting.

Ponto, who owns Ponto’s Greenhouses on the corner of Perry and Connors roads, is asking the board to submit a request to the New York State Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit on Perry Road from 55 mph to 35 mph.

Ponto said the speed limit on Perry Road is unmarked, but he sees drivers going 60 or 65 mph; Article 30, Section 1180-a, of NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law states that 55 mph is the maximum speed limit unless otherwise posted.

Supervisor Claude Sykes said the state would send traffic engineers to assess traffic on Perry Road and inform Onondaga County, which owns Perry Road, whether it should post a lower speed limit.

Sykes added that the state may recommend a speed limit other than Ponto’s desired 35 mph.

“That is a big jump down to 35,” Ponto conceded. “I’m hoping for 40.”

Councilor Ron Dudzinski said any reduction would be an improvement. Dudzinski lives on Connors Road and said he has witnessed drivers going at dangerous speeds, too.

“We get a lot of traffic Saturday nights, Friday nights when they come out of Whiskey Hollow — they’re drag racing up and down that road, motorcycles and cars,” Dudzinski said, adding that some drivers use Perry and Kingdom roads as a shortcut to avoid traffic on Route 31. “They do fly through there,” he said.

Highway Superintendent Doug Foster said snowdrifts during the winter create a hazard on Perry Road as well.

The board held off on voting to submit the request until Ponto has gathered letters of support from his neighbors.

“If you can get a couple people to send in letters quickly, any aid will help the case,” Sykes said.